I enjoy my new Philips Lux light (part of the Philips Hue brand, but not multi-color). It is a low-barrier entry in to the home automation world — something I’ve been dreaming about tinkering in since my undergraduate years.

To start, I want to use it in the main fixtures in a room. This means the switch that powers the fixtures should remain “on” to allow the Philips wireless hub to control the light’s state — on, off, or dimmed. But, leaving the switch always on means there’s no easy way to control the light without using my smartphone — ick!